The New Zealand Olympic Committee undertook a review of the entry confirmation error which led to the names of Valerie Adams and Lucy Van Dalen being left off their respective competition start lists.
The findings of that review were released yesterday. It was confirmed that a highly uncharacteristic human error caused the names to be left off the start list and created unnecessary stress for the athletes involved before they began taking part in their competitions.
Bates, the athletics team manager, was tasked with completing the form and she had quickly stepped forward to admit her error.
NZOC president Mike Stanley said it was important to carry out the full review process but he now wanted to finish the matter.
"It is the right time to put this to bed and move on. We have completed this review and now we want to look to the future and quite rightly have put some processes in place to make sure this does not happen again," he said.
New Zealand's entry confirmation processes were the same as those used by the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Switzerland and Denmark.
A single person is responsible for submitting the final entry confirmation.
That would be changed and entry confirmations would be checked by a second designated official. Additional resources will be provided to support team managers in this process as well as in all dealings with the international federations and IOC during the Olympic Games.
The NZOC has also been in contact with the International Association of Athletic Federations and has requested changes to the confirmation of entry process. The New Zealand Olympic Committee believes the process could be improved and the risk of errors reduced.
Stanley said from information he had received this sort of error had occurred before.
"From what I can understand this is a reasonably common occurrence and it is not a one-off thing..." The IAAF has advised the NZOC it will review its processes accordingly.
He said Bates would not be penalised for her error.
"She is one of the most trusted and highly respected team managers. She was incredibly professional throughout the whole process and got full support from all the athletes."
The findings of the NZOC's entry confirmation process review will now be included as part of the wider High Performance Sport New Zealand and Athletics New Zealand debriefing of the London 2012 campaign, which is yet to be completed.
